THE LITTLE GUY
One of the great American myths is that the "little guy" can make a difference. It is the myth that allows us to say that every vote counts, and the myth that allows poor people to oppose the inheritance tax. Still, there were two stories yesterday that really pointed out how little the little guy does count. Interestingly, both are from the Christian Science Monitor, which would be a fabulous weekly, and is a pretty good daily…
The first is an article about the effect of No Child Left Behind on schools in rural North Dakota. Rural North Dakota includes incredibly sparsely populated regions, as well as several Indian reservations. In other words, it is generally "disadvantaged," "underprivileged," and "underserved" in every way you can imagine. Nevertheless, the new Federal education standards that apply in densely packed New York, or affluent Simi Valley apply here as well. For instance, the law mandates that teachers must have a major in the subjects they teach. The state estimates that 27% of teachers in the STATE might not meet this requirement, and they cannot hire science teachers to save their lives. Also, who exactly majored in reading in college? Who will teach reading then? Finally, what kind of a moron can't teach a grade school class in a topic they didn't major in in college? Good grief, while North Dakota teachers make $26,000 per year at the high end, the Federal government is mandating that they have majored in a y subject they teach. So much for the realities of rural life and the little guy. Isn't this why we have state control over education in the first place?
The second article comes from France, where the French government treat Airbus like Third World dictators treat high rises and dams—as a symbol of their modernity and ability. Silly French. Anyway, the article specifically discusses the 150 mile route that parts for the new Airbus plane will need to travel to be assembled in Toulouse. The parts are made across the EU, but are too big to fly to the assembly area. Thus, the French are demolishing houses in small villages, chopping down trees, relocating curves and hills, and generally ignoring environmental laws to create a thoroughfare for the parts to be trucked to Toulouse. In the fine tradition of French democracy, the mayor of one used-and-abused village is quoted as saying, "it is not for a mayor like me to be against a project of national and international importance." And another village of little guys gets screwed so that the European governments can say that they compete with Boeing and the United States.
BOOK REVIEW
OK, if I am going to have a what I'm reading link, I guess it behooves me to say something about what I've read. I also think it would be interesting to get feedback from others reading the same books. In any case, I can at least link to a review I agree with.
The last book before Paris 1919 I read was Baudolino by Umberto Eco. The Washington Post review of the book is excellent. The beginning really is amazing, and through the middle and end, you really do wonder how many more pages before the book ends. I have read reviews that claim that the book is written in the medieval narrative style, and is therefore a genre triumph. That's fine, but it gets me nowhere when the book drags. I would recommend Name of the Rose for someone who wants to read Eco and not be overwhelmed.
Before Baudolino I read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Since we are just discussed Eco, let me say that this book is like the preschool version of Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. They do not have the same thesis in religious terms, but they both weave together myth and history with secret and historic organizations (the Templars, etc.) to create modern conspiracies. Anyway, I can't really find any reviews I agree with, but this book is entertaining in the beginning and painfully obvious in the end. Worth the two days it takes to read it.
I am reading Paris 1919 right now, and I think it is fantastic. Even if you don't agree with all of the historical interpretation, it is still a great look at the Peace Conference, and presents the sometimes intractable issue the conference dealt with. I'll talk about this more fully later.
One of the great American myths is that the "little guy" can make a difference. It is the myth that allows us to say that every vote counts, and the myth that allows poor people to oppose the inheritance tax. Still, there were two stories yesterday that really pointed out how little the little guy does count. Interestingly, both are from the Christian Science Monitor, which would be a fabulous weekly, and is a pretty good daily…
The first is an article about the effect of No Child Left Behind on schools in rural North Dakota. Rural North Dakota includes incredibly sparsely populated regions, as well as several Indian reservations. In other words, it is generally "disadvantaged," "underprivileged," and "underserved" in every way you can imagine. Nevertheless, the new Federal education standards that apply in densely packed New York, or affluent Simi Valley apply here as well. For instance, the law mandates that teachers must have a major in the subjects they teach. The state estimates that 27% of teachers in the STATE might not meet this requirement, and they cannot hire science teachers to save their lives. Also, who exactly majored in reading in college? Who will teach reading then? Finally, what kind of a moron can't teach a grade school class in a topic they didn't major in in college? Good grief, while North Dakota teachers make $26,000 per year at the high end, the Federal government is mandating that they have majored in a y subject they teach. So much for the realities of rural life and the little guy. Isn't this why we have state control over education in the first place?
The second article comes from France, where the French government treat Airbus like Third World dictators treat high rises and dams—as a symbol of their modernity and ability. Silly French. Anyway, the article specifically discusses the 150 mile route that parts for the new Airbus plane will need to travel to be assembled in Toulouse. The parts are made across the EU, but are too big to fly to the assembly area. Thus, the French are demolishing houses in small villages, chopping down trees, relocating curves and hills, and generally ignoring environmental laws to create a thoroughfare for the parts to be trucked to Toulouse. In the fine tradition of French democracy, the mayor of one used-and-abused village is quoted as saying, "it is not for a mayor like me to be against a project of national and international importance." And another village of little guys gets screwed so that the European governments can say that they compete with Boeing and the United States.
BOOK REVIEW
OK, if I am going to have a what I'm reading link, I guess it behooves me to say something about what I've read. I also think it would be interesting to get feedback from others reading the same books. In any case, I can at least link to a review I agree with.
The last book before Paris 1919 I read was Baudolino by Umberto Eco. The Washington Post review of the book is excellent. The beginning really is amazing, and through the middle and end, you really do wonder how many more pages before the book ends. I have read reviews that claim that the book is written in the medieval narrative style, and is therefore a genre triumph. That's fine, but it gets me nowhere when the book drags. I would recommend Name of the Rose for someone who wants to read Eco and not be overwhelmed.
Before Baudolino I read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Since we are just discussed Eco, let me say that this book is like the preschool version of Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. They do not have the same thesis in religious terms, but they both weave together myth and history with secret and historic organizations (the Templars, etc.) to create modern conspiracies. Anyway, I can't really find any reviews I agree with, but this book is entertaining in the beginning and painfully obvious in the end. Worth the two days it takes to read it.
I am reading Paris 1919 right now, and I think it is fantastic. Even if you don't agree with all of the historical interpretation, it is still a great look at the Peace Conference, and presents the sometimes intractable issue the conference dealt with. I'll talk about this more fully later.
posted by David at 1:25 PM
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